Acoustics

Acoustics is a branch of physics and is the study of sound, mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician. The application of acoustics in technology is called acoustical engineering. There is often much overlap and interaction between the interests of acousticians and acoustical engineers.

Reverberation and anechoic rooms

Experiments such as the two methods mentioned above are sometimes performed in reverberation rooms, or in some cases, anechoic rooms. The design of a reverberation room is to create long lasting echoes of sound waves. This helps create a highly averaged and omnidirectional sound level throughout the entire chamber. A typical example of rooms with characteristics similar to reverberation rooms are concrete tunnels, caves, etc. Anechoic rooms, such as hemi-anechoic rooms, or fully anechoic rooms are created to simulate what is called a free field. A free field is the representation of a theoretical infinite space, in which no sound wave reflections, or echoes, take place. In rooms such as these, the only sounds which exist are being emitted directly from the source, and are not reflected from another part of the chamber. Anechoic rooms have the characteristic of being muted and muffled.

Related Topics:
Reverberation room - Anechoic room - Echo - Omnidirectional - Hemi-anechoic - Free field - Infinite space - Reflection

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